Adaptive Management Present by: Michael Mayer The Louis Berger Group
History of Adaptive Management THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Described in the 70s by Holling “management decisions and policies to be viewed as hypotheses subject to change” • Originally adapted from a business model • Considered by some as a buzzword or a management default • Has been defined in a number of ways (variations of a similar method)
Technical Guide Definition THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • DOI defines adaptive management as: “[a decision process that] promotes flexible decision making that can be adjusted in the face of uncertainties as outcomes from management actions and other events become better understood. … emphasizes learning by doing. … a means to more effective decisions and enhanced benefits….”
What Adaptive Management Is THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • A learning-based process improving understanding • Structured approach to decision making • Process that openly acknowledges uncertainty “A system of management practices…”
What it is not THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Trial and error management • Not an end in itself but a means • Monitoring by itself • Not applicable in all situations
Common Perceptions THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Undermines existing conservation laws • Authorizes risky, experimental mgt. • Marginalizes the public • Federal action blank check • End-run on accountability
Authority THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • CEQ NEPA regulations • Draft DOI NEPA regulations • Case law • DOI Departmental Manual • FAA policy guidance and NEPA – Ex. Panama City International Airport ROD 2006
Challenges THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Reluctance to change • Institutional commitment for long term monitoring and evaluation • Time lag between action and impact • Collecting enough data • Legal environment
Benefits THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Provides flexibility—ability to respond to the resources • Encourages collaboration with stakeholders • Promotes better decision making
Similarities Between Adaptive Management and NEPA THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Informed decision making • Interdisciplinary approaches • Public and Stakeholder Involvement • Consideration of models and alternatives • Understanding resource impacts and responses • Monitoring
Effective Integration THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Development of Interdisciplinary Planning and Compliance teams • Applying NEPA early in the process • Committing to an AM approach early in the process NO AFTER THOUGHTS
The AM Process—Key Elements THE Louis Berger Group, INC. Assess Problem Adjust Design Evaluate Implement Monitor
Adaptive Management: A Two Phased Approach THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Set-up Phase • Iterative Phase
Setup Phase THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Stakeholder Involvement • Objectives • Management Actions • Models • Monitoring Plans
Stakeholder Involvement THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Individuals and organizations with a vested interest in a shared enterprise. • Interests can include: • An expectation of received benefits; • A perceived threat; • A prior investment of time and/or resources; or • Values shared with others associated with the enterprise.
Stakeholders vs. the Public THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Stakeholders actively engage and commit time and resources. • Public may be more driven by self-interest and value-based requirements. Their objectivity may be limited. Involvement may be inconsistent.
Stakeholder Involvement THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Identify and engage your stakeholders – Be aware of FACA • Notify and inform the public • Scope the issues: – Purpose – Need – Preliminary Management Alternatives or Actions – Adaptive Management Objectives
Objectives THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Specific, measurable, achievable, results- oriented, and time-fixed • A way of measuring the success of a management action • The Link between the Purpose of and Need for action and the Management Alternative being considered
Example of Objectives THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Deer Management Plan • Objective Statement: …to ensure tree regeneration sufficient to have a sustainable eastern hardwood forest… • That objective is based on a particular metric: stocking rate • Metric is that successful regeneration occurs when 2/3 or more of open vegetation plots being monitored contains 51 or more seedlings. • Monitoring period is six years
Management Actions THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Objectives answer “Why?” Management actions answer “How?” • A useful set of actions requires interaction among stakeholders, managers, and scientists • Actions should be limited in number, span the range of desirable outcomes, and maximize differences in system responses • As with objectives, the set of actions may not be immediately obvious
Management Actions THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Management Actions are the NEPA Alternatives that must be developed • The range of alternatives is limited by the purpose and need for action • If the purpose and need statements are written too narrowly then they will constrain the number of alternatives that can be considered.
Spatially or Temporally Separated Actions within Alternatives THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Spatially Separated: Varying actions for prescriptions taken in different areas testing the management effectiveness (prescribed fire v. mowing) • Temporally Separated: Varying actions over time in response to environmental conditions and monitoring data (ungulate reduction, timber cuts, prescribed fire, replanting)
Models THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Models can vary from conceptual to highly quantitative • Models for Adaptive Management Purposes • Assist in developing objectives, actions, and monitoring needs • Can help provide a framework for anticipated results
Monitoring Plans THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Provides data to • Evaluate progress towards achieving objectives • Determine resource status in order to identify appropriate management actions • Increase understanding of resource dynamics • Help improve or refine models • Allows for an evaluation of impacts predicted and those actually occurring • Provides a basis/justification for adjusting management actions
Adaptive Management Framework THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Describes how and when subsequent action will be taken • Describes objectives, thresholds and metrics used • Refers to monitoring plans • Articulates a length of time • Describes what actions will be taken when certain conditions are or are not met and what those conditions are.
The Iterative Phase THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Decision Making and Implementation • Follow-up Monitoring • Assessment • Iteration
Decision Making THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Finalize and Describe Decision in a Decision Document • Implement Decision • New decisions may be made depending on data collected during monitoring and resource response
Follow-up Monitoring THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Implement the monitoring plan that was described in your plan/EIS or EA. • Could include collecting additional baseline data prior to taking actions
Assessment THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Evaluate monitoring data to assess whether the management action is achieving the objective. Is it effective? • Evaluate whether environmental impacts predicted are occurring.
Iteration THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Will you continue to implement the initial action? • Will you adopt a new action? decision t decision t+1 … … monitoring assessment
Examples of Adaptive Management THE Louis Berger Group, INC. • Waterfowl Management • Deer Management • Landscape Management • Avian Protection Plan
Assess Problem NEPA Internal and Public Adjust Design Scoping Evaluate Implement Monitor
Assess Problem Adjust Design Develop NEPA Document And Decision Evaluate Implement Monitor
The Design Stage THE Louis Berger Group, INC. Develop in the NEPA Document : • Purpose and Need that lends itself to AM; • Objectives for achieving the Purpose and Need; • Metrics for objectives to measure success; • A range of alternatives including subsequent actions; and • An Adaptive Management framework describing how it will work, including a monitoring plan. • An impact analysis that considers subsequent actions
Assess Problem Adjust Design NEPA Review Is there a need to Supplement Evaluate Implement ? Monitor
The Evaluate Stage THE Louis Berger Group, INC. Based on your NEPA document: • Evaluate monitoring data to determine if meeting objectives; • Consider changing actions already described in your implemented alternative to better achieve objectives; • Re-examine predicted environmental impacts in the NEPA document with what is occurring; • Adjust actions if there are no “significant new circumstances or information bearing on the proposed action or its impacts.”
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